Just curious, was thinking of buying either a hybrid Camry or hybrid Highlander. My brother in law usually does all of my repairs but says he won't touch a hybrid because he knows nothing about them. If you have a problem do you have to take it to a dealer? Any small repair shops that service them in the KC area(Overland Park specifically)? Anyone have any experience with them?

Just curious, was thinking of buying either a hybrid Camry or hybrid Highlander. My brother in law usually does all of my repairs but says he won't touch a hybrid because he knows nothing about them. If you have a problem do you have to take it to a dealer? Any small repair shops that service them in the KC area(Overland Park specifically)? Anyone have any experience with them?

2010 Prius we've had 2 years.... I absolutely love it... People call it gay but I fill up every 3 weeks for about $30 bucks... How do you beat that? And having worked here at our college .. the automotive students have it in their curriculum.... Plus the college owns 5 hybrids themselves ... It's the future for sure!!!

2010 Prius we've had 2 years.... I absolutely love it... People call it gay but I fill up every 3 weeks for about $30 bucks... How do you beat that? And having worked here at our college .. the automotive students have it in their curriculum.... Plus the college owns 5 hybrids themselves ... It's the future for sure!!!

Does the Prius get 50mpg on average?

__________________
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father ... And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

"If the people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson

__________________
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father ... And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

"If the people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson

Grew up a Chevy guy, and My mechanic was a Chevy Mechanic...Old habits die hard, plus he may lynch me if I were to buy a Ford.

__________________
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father ... And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

"If the people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson

I have a 2010 Altima hybrid and usually get between 36 and 38 mpg combined city/highway (my calculations, not the computer's). At 35k miles so far and no problems. Not all hybrids are created equal. My electric kicks in under 40 mph and this car is pretty peppy compared to my mom's 07 Prius which is sluggish. This is my first CVT transmission and I'm liking it a lot. Overall best car I have owned so far although my past cars have been Buicks, a Pontiac, and a Ford Escort . I love new cars and tend to keep them close to ten years so we differ there.

I have a 2010 Altima hybrid and usually get between 36 and 38 mpg combined city/highway (my calculations, not the computer's). At 35k miles so far and no problems. Not all hybrids are created equal. My electric kicks in under 40 mph and this car is pretty peppy compared to my mom's 07 Prius which is sluggish. This is my first CVT transmission and I'm liking it a lot. Overall best car I have owned so far although my past cars have been Buicks, a Pontiac, and a Ford Escort . I love new cars and tend to keep them close to ten years so we differ there.

Love the Buicks. My favorite was a Regal Supercharged, put 350k on it.

__________________
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father ... And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

"If the people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson

2010 Prius we've had 2 years.... I absolutely love it... People call it gay but I fill up every 3 weeks for about $30 bucks... How do you beat that? And having worked here at our college .. the automotive students have it in their curriculum.... Plus the college owns 5 hybrids themselves ... It's the future for sure!!!

Pretty much this for me as well. I bought a one year old Prius with 20,000 miles on it. It's now a three year old Prius with closer to 40,000 miles on it.

I just take it to a local place rather than the dealer.

On gas mileage: when you replace your tires, you might want to stick with the tires that Toyota recommends or you'll lose a few miles per gallon. I've never gotten less than 40 mpg on a tank and I've gotten over 50 mpg. A lead foot and non-Toyota approved tires will get you in the low 40's routinely if you are driving around town.

Really, though, once you are averaging over 40 mpg there isn't much cost savings in gas by improving your gas mileage by another 5 mpg, and I'm not one to accelerate slowly.

If I did primarily city driving, I would own a hybrid in a heartbeat. However, in the rural/highway driving that I do, there isn't enough of a fuel savings to make up the price premium on the hybrid. There are a lot of new gas cars that get close to 40 mpg highway that are fairly inexpensive (my folks have a Ford Fiesta that they bought for $16k that averages 42 mpg).

As for SUVs, my '09 Forester is full time AWD and about the size of an Escape and I average 28-30 mpg.